Arnold Schwarzenegger Gives Health Update After Heart Surgery

The actor and politician took to Twitter on Monday to give fans an update on how he was doing following the unexpected procedure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.

“It’s true: I’m back!” the 70-year-old star wrote. “I went to sleep expecting to wake up with a small incision and woke up with a big one - but guess what? I woke up, and that’s something to be thankful for. Thank you to the doctors & nurses. And I’m truly filled with gratitude for all of the kind messages.”

Schwarzenegger was initially scheduled last week to have the pulmonic valve that was put in during a 1997 procedure due to a congenital heart defect replaced. However, the less invasive procedure they had planned could not be performed and Schwarzenegger had to undergo open-heart surgery instead.

According his spokesperson, Daniel Ketchell, his first words after waking up from surgery were, “I’m back,” in reference to his signature line, “I’ll be back,” from his best-known film, The Terminator.

It’s true: I’m back! I went to sleep expecting to wake up with a small incision and woke up with a big one - but guess what? I woke up, and that’s something to be thankful for. Thank you to the doctors & nurses. And I’m truly filled with gratitude for all of the kind messages.